Button loop



Sept. 9, 1930. J. SALISBURY BUTTON LOOP Filed June 28, 1929 INVE TIjF-k JEssLJF EALIEEIURy AT'Ty Patented Sept. 9, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JESSUP SALISBURY, OF HAMDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN BUCKLE COMPANY, OF WEST HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT BUTTON LOOP Application filed June 28,

This invention relates to button loops adapted to be suspended upon a strap to support a garment by the engagement of a loop with a button carried by the garment.

Among other objects the invention is 1nrtended to provide a button loop with a plurality of contracted throats either one of which is adapted to contract as the other expands; to'provide a loop with increased button re- .10 taining efficiency; and to provide a loop with means adapted to preserve its resiliency in spite of excessive use.

The invention consists in the novel constructions, to be hereinafter described or claimed, for carrying out the above stated objects and such other objects as may herelnafter appear.

The character of the invention may be best understood by reference to one illustrative device embodying the invention and illustrated by the several figures in the accompanying drawing of which the Flgure 1 is an elevation of a button loop; the Figure 2 is a bottom view of the loop; and the Figure 3 is an elevation of the loop at one stage of the process of manufacture. I

The device illustrated in the drawing is a loop for connecting a suspender strap to a button fixed to a garment or the like, and

comprises a suspension loop 1 adapted to re ceive a suspender strap (not illustrated), a

button receiving loop 2, and a button reta1ning loop 3, the loops being associated in axial alignment. The button loop is preferably formed of a single piece of resilient wire, a

middle portion of which is bent to form an elongated loop to provide a horizontal bar 4 about which a strap may be looped, the further portions of the wire are co-operatingly formed to provide the sides of the loops 2 and 3, the portions of the wire connecting these loops being bent inwardly to provide the contracted throat 5 providing a restricted entrance to either loop. The free end por- '-tions of the wire, after forming the loop 3,

are overlapped in cross relation, as illustrated by the Figures 1 and 2, to permit each end to follow an opposite side portion of the loop 3 and emerge inwardly therefrom to together form within the loop 3 a secondcontracted 1929. Serial No. 374,394.

throat 6 axially spaced from the throat 5, the ends of each wire portion being laterally returned and looped around the adjacent side portion of the loop 3, as at 8 and 9, and thus secured thereto in a manner permitting a limited lateral movement of the looped end providing a portion of the throat. The portions of wire forming the loop 3, including the overlapped and secured end portions, are preferably flattened in the plane of the button loop, as best illustrated by the Figure 3 and for the obvious purpose of maintaining a minimum thickness of the button loop at the overlapped portion, as illustrated by the Figure 2. It will be readily understood that the construction above disclosed is adapted to introduce a novel function; for, with the button inserted within the loop 1 and the shank 7 of the button in the first position, as illustrated in dotted line by the Figure 1, a downwardly directed force applied to the button will cause the shank 7 to act as a cam to operate and expand the throat 5 from its normal condition to permit the passing of the shank 7 to the second position between the throats 5 and 6 as illustrated in dotted line by the Figure 1. Upon the expansion of the throat 5 the throat 6 is automatically contracted from its normal condition to which it is returned, by means of the resiliency of the wire, as soon as the shank 7 takes its second position in its downward course. A further downwardly directed force applied to the button will cause the shank 7 to again act as a cam to operate and expand the throat 6 from its normal conditionto permit the passing of the shank 7 to its third position within the retaining loop 3, as illustrated in full line by the Figure 1. Upon the expansion of the throat 6 the throat 5 is automatically contracted from its normal condition to which it is returned, by means of the resiliency of the wire, as soon as the shank 7 takes its final position within the retaining loop 3. An upwardly directed force applied to the button will, of course, operate and expand the throats 6 and 5 in succession in a similar manner to that above explained in connection with a downwardly directed force. The counteracting movements of the throats 7 arms being 5 and 6, by means of the downward and upward forced travel of the shank 7, not only provide an efficient safety feature for the button engagement with the button loop and behind one or both throats, but these forced counteracting movements have a marked tendency to prolong the resilient life of the wire comprising the side portions of the button loop by reason of the forced moving of the side portions laterally both ways from an intermediate normal positionof each to which normal position the resiliency of the wire can be relied upon to return the side por tion.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to any specific form of construction and the details of the device as illustrated" may be variously modified to produce a button loop having a plurality of contracted throat portions, and to advantageously combine such a loop in connection with other elements adapted to be employed in garment 'supv porters. i t

I claim: I

1. A button loop comprising a single piece of resilient wire bent to form a strap suspension loop and a button receiving loop; arms depending from the button receiving loop, the

bent and returned, one upon the other, to form a button retaining loop with a restricted entrance thereto from the receiving loop, each arm having its end secured to, and in limited movable contact with, the other arm below the restricted entrance, and a sec-J ond restricted entrance provided by the secured ends normally projecting into the retaining loop. 1

2. A button loop comprising a single piece of resilient wire bent at its middle portion to form a strap suspension loop, and each of the remaining portions of wire bent outwardly and then downwardly and inwardly to t0- gether form a button receiving loop,the end portions of the wire then being bent to form a button retaining loop of which each wire is made to followan opposite wire and the wire extremity loosely looped around the op posite wireto permit a limited relative lateral movement thereof, the looped extremities forming an expansible restricted entrance to the button retaining loop.

3. A button loop comprising a single piece of resilient wire of which the middle portion is bent to form associated loops in axial alignment, two of the loops being connected by a contracted throat, and the remaining por tions of the wire being overlapped, one upon the other, with an extremity of each movably secured to the other .end portion in axially spaced relation to the contracted throat, the secured extremities projecting laterally into one of the loops and there providing a-second contracted throat spaced axially from the first throat. i

l. A button loop comprising a single piece of resilient wire bent at its middle portion to form a strap suspension loop and a button receiving loop arms depending from the button receiving loop and bent to form a contracted throat, both arms being bent and overlapped, one upon the other, to form a button retaining loop, each arm having a portion adj acent its extremity projecting into the button retaining loop and secured to the other arm below the contraction, permitting a limited lateral movement of the extremity and there together providing a second contracted throat spaced from the first throat, the expansion ofone throat automatically contracting the J other throat.

5 A button loop comprising asingle piece of resilient wire bent at its middle portion to form a strap suspension loop and a button receiving loop having a contracted throat; arms depending from the throat, both arms being bent and flattened in the plane of the loop to overlap, one upon the other, to form having a portion adj acent its extremity proectlng nto the button retaining loop and movably secured to the other arm below the a button retaining loop, each flattened arm contracted throat and there together provid ing a second contracted throat spaced from the first throat. v i

JESSUP SALISBURY. 

